For City Deal to succeed, Glaswegians need to find a better export than Rab

When people overseas think of Scots it is invariably the chippy, pithy,
in-your-face Glaswegian that comes to mind. From Stanley Baxter’s Parliamo
Glasgow via Rab C Nesbitt and Billy Connolly to Still Game, the knockabout,
pie-eyed vulgarian with an undertone of cheerful aggression has proved to be
one of Scotland’s most resilient and successful exports. But lately it has
seemed the joke is on Glasgow.

Edinburgh may market itself on the back of its lah-di-dah festivals, Aberdeen
is rolling in high-tech oil money and Dundee has made gargantuan efforts to
promote itself artistically and scientifically, culminating in the new
outpost for the V&A. But Glasgow has stuck with a cultural brand that is
resolutely low-brow.

It may be home to Scottish Opera and Scottish Ballet, the National Theatre of
Scotland, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the BBC Scottish Symphony
Orchestra, the Burrell Collection, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and the new
Riverside